dates and lengths of the ensuing reigns after Cyrus, under the specious name of corrections, are in reality corruptions, founded in ignorance of the principles on which it was originally constructed; as Marsham truly observes: " Chronographi Christiani futilibus conjecturis nimium indulgentes, miris modis Canonem hunc castigarunt, vel potius conturbarunt." Chron. p. 506.

1. Thus, Jackson, by continuing downwards the two interpolated years of Evilmerodach and Belshazzar, dates the reigns of Cambyses, B.C. 527; Darius I. B.C. 519; Xerxes, B.C. 483; Artaxerxes I. B.C. 462; Darius II. B.C. 421; and Artaxerxes II. B.C. 402; each two years lower than the Canon, in defiance of several eclipses recorded by Ptolomy as observed at Babylon ; viz. in the seventh year of Cambyses; in the 20th and 31st of Darius I.; and in the 23d of Artaxerxes II.; ascertaining the true dates of the commencement of their reigns, in conformity with the Canon. Jackson, Vol. I. pp. 453, 454.

2. By an unwarrantable defalcation, he drops three years of the reign of Artaxerxes II. reducing it to 43 years, against the genuine copies of the Canon, and those of Syncellus also; and by this means, dates the succeeding reigns of the Persian kings a year higher than the Canon; namely, Ochus, B.C. 359; Arses, B.C. 338; Darius III. B.C. 336; and Alexander the Great, B.C. 332, antedating the accession of Alexander a year before the decisive victory of Arbela, in the year B.C. 331, as demonstrated by the lunar eclipse recorded by Plutarch, eleven days before the battle. Jackson, vol. I. p. 455.

3. A leading cause of these corruptions of the Canon by Jackson, may perhaps be traced to a fanciful and unfounded hypothesis which he adopted, respecting the time of the famous prophecy of the 70 weeks in Daniel; for, assuming that they began in the 20th year of Ahasuerus, Neh. ii. 1. and mistaking this prince for Xerxes, with Josephus, who in reality was Artaxerxes Longimanus; from his supposed date of the 20th of Xerxes, there were 463 years to the Christian era, and from thence 27 more to our Lord's baptism and preaching, A.D. 28, amounting to 490 years exactly; but the canonical date of the 20th of Xerxes being two years higher, would make the amount 492 years, overturning the hypothesis. Jackson, Vol. I. p. 454. Not. (27.) II. The principles upon which this truly scientific Canon was constructed are next to be explained.

RULE 1. The reigns consist of full or complete years, which

are reduced to Julian years, Table XVII. in order to preserve the continuity of time in reckoning.

RULE 2. Each king's reign begins at the Thoth, or New year's day before his accession, and all the odd months of his last year are included in the first year of his successor.

Thus, the actual accession of Alexander the Great was at the decisive victory of Arbela, Oct. 1, B.C. 331, but his reign in the Canon began the preceding new year's day of the same current Nabonassarean year, Nov. 14, B.C. 332, which ended soon after the battle, Nov. 14, B.C. 331.

The death of Alexander the Great was in the 114th Olympiad, according to Josephus, May 22, B.C. 323*; but the era of his successor, Philip Aridæus, began in the Canon the preceding new year's day, Nov. 12, B.C. 324, as confirmed by Censorinus, who reckons from thence 294 years to the accession of Augustus, B.C. 30. But B.C. 324 294 B.C. 30.

Tiberius died March 16, A.D. 37, but the reign of his successor, Caius Caligula, began in the Canon from the preceding new year's day, Aug. 14, A.D. 36.

From these two rules, it follows, that the last year of any reign belongs thereto wholly, or exclusively, and that the beginning of a reign is sometimes dated in the Canon near a full year before the actual accession, and frequently one nominal Julian year before. Whence Petavius complained that Ptolomy often makes the Roman emperors after Caligula begin their reign a year too soon. Rationar. Temp. Pars II. lib. iv. c. 6. This peculiar construction of the Canon was first fortunately discovered by the learned Dodwell, in the Appendix to his Dissertationes Cyprianice, and was afterwards confirmed by Vignoles in his Chronology." In this Canon," says he," the first year of each king commences with the year which is current at his accession, although a considerable part of it should have been already past. We have just as many proofs of it as there are kings, with the time of whose death we are made acquainted;" and he has proved it in several cases of Persian kings in the Canon: but they are too intricate to be adduced. Chronol. Sacré, Berlin, 1738, ch. ii. sect. 4.

"In

*Josephus contr. Apion. lib. i. § 22, says, "All historians acknowledge that Alexander died in the 114th Olympiad :" which began about the Summer solstice, B C. 324; consequently, the 22d of May, or beginning of June, when he died, fell in the ensuing Julian year, B.C. 323.

Although the Canon assigns eight full years to the reign of Alexander the Great, which are included in the sum of collected years from Nabonassar, 424; yet it apparently contains only seven Julian years, namely, from B.C. 331, to B.C. 324. In order, therefore, to compleat the seeming deficiency, Jackson unskilfully interpolated one year in his reign, making it begin a year earlier, B.C. 332. While to compensate for this year, and the two other interpolated years of Evilmerodach and Belshazzar, he omitted three years of the longest reign, of Artaxerxes II.; following Diodorus, as he says. By this compensation of errors, his ensuing Canon of Egyptian kings' reigns is correct; and so is that of the Roman emperors till Caligula, in whose reign he interpolates a year, and renders the remainder of the Canon incorrect to the end.

RULE 3. The names of kings who reigned less than a year are omitted in the Canon; namely,

RULE 4. But the short reigns of such kings are not sup. pressed; they are tacitly included either in the first year of the successor, if there be but one reign, or else distributed between the last year of the predecessor, and the first of the successor, if there be more, exceeding a year all together.

Thus, the nine months of Laborosoarchod are included in the first year of Nabonadius. The same will hold of the seven months of Artabanus, and the eight of Xerxes II. and Sogdianus. But the seven months of Smerdis Magus, according to Herodotus, were included in the reign of Cambyses, which was actually no more than seven years and five months, and thereby made eight years in the Canon. While the reigns of the two conspirators, Maraphis and Artaphrenes, who, according to Eschylus, succeeded Smerdis Magus, and which might have amounted to about half a year more, were included in the first year of their associate, Darius I. who succeeded them.

In like manner the reigns of Galba, Otho, and Vitellius, were distributed between their predecessor Nero and their successor Vespasian; but the greater portion of the amount of their reigns, 13 months, fell to the latter: for Nero died June 9, A.D. 68, and the Thoth, or New year's day that year, fell on August 6th, near two months after, which therefore were included in his reign, ending the New year's day after his death. Vespasian's accession was on July 1, in the ensuing year, A.D. 69; but his reign began, according to the second rule, on the foregoing New year's day, August 6, A.D. 68. Consequently, his first year included the 11 remaining months of the omitted emperors.

The inquisitive reader may find this very intricate subject copiously discussed in the learned and ingenious publication before referred to, Howe's Critical Observations on Books, Vol. I.

Table XX. contains a useful continuation of Ptolomy's Canon, down to the accession of his present Majesty, GEORGE III. taken from Kennedy's Astronomical Canon, with some corrections. Chronol. p. 148.

ERA OF SELEUCIDE, OR ALEXANDER'S

SUCCESSORS.

This Era was so called from Seleucus, the successor of Alexander the Great, in the kingdom of Syria. It was more usually called the Era from Alexander, under which title it is still used by the Syrian Christians; and by the Arabs it was styled Dilcarnaim" of the two horned," meaning Alexander, who wished to be considered as the son of Jupiter Ammon, whose emblem was a Ram, and was so described in Daniel's prophecies. In the first book of Maccabees, i. 10, it was called the Era of " the kingdom of the Greeks," or of Alexander's successors. By the Jews, the Era of Contracts, because they were obliged to regulate their civil concerns thereby. Josephus is perhaps the only ancient writer who has joined to it the name of Seleucus, Ant. 12, 5, 3, whose power was by no means established when it commenced, nor for some time after, till the decisive battle of Ipsus, B.C. 301.

This era properly began from the death of Alexander Ægus, the son of Alexander the Great, who was murdered in the fifth year of his reign, B.C. 312, or the 12th year of the era of Philip, and therefore it properly began at the extinction of Alexander

the Great's posterity, or the end of their dominion. And as the era of Philip was continued in the series of Egyptian kings, beginning with Ptolomy Lagus *, down to the Roman emperors, so this era likewise branched off from thence; and from its prevailing in Syria chiefly, the most powerful of the kingdoms erected by Alexander's successors thence assumed the name of Seleucus. Thus Albategni, the great Arabian astronomer and mathematician, in his work De Scientia Stellarum, c. 30, relates, that "he observed an eclipse of the sun in the year of Dilkarnaim, 1202, which is the 1214th year from Alexander's death, in the month Ab." Evidently considering it as the continuation of the Era of Philip, which began at Alexander's death, (or rather the end of his reign in the Canon) and not at the accession of Seleucus, as Prideaux and others have imagined. This year of the eclipse was 1202-B.C. 312=A.D. 890 complete, or 891 current; and the Syrian month Ab corresponded to August in the Julian Calendar, and accordingly, the astronomical tables intimate a solar eclipse, A.D. 891, August 8.

This example shews, that the fixed Syro-Macedonian year, which began at the calends of October, was used in computing by this era, as well as the moveable Chaldean or Egyptian by Ptolomy. And from the difference of half a year, between the end of Alexander's reign in the Canon, November 12, B.C. 324, and his death, May 22, in the ensuing year, B.C. 323, may we satisfactorily account for a variation in the date of this era, B.C. 312, or B.C. 311; the Syrians reckoning the twelve preceding years from the former epoch, the Greeks from the latter. Some Greek cities in Asia, also, began it in Spring, others in Autumn, and in different months of those seasons, as well as different days of those months. All these diversities indicate, that when they substituted Syrian or Macedonian months, and an intercalated fixed year, instead of the moveable retrograde year of the Chaldean and Philippine era, current in Asia, they departed irregularly from the old rule of the commencement of the civil year, without agreeing on any new general rule to supply its place, which has been of infinite detriment to Ancient Chronology. Hence we may reconcile some apparent dissonances in the two books of the Maccabees:

Although Alexander Ægus was murdered about the fifth year of his reign, it is continued to the twelfth year in the Canon, comprehending the anarchy that ensued till the establishment of Ptolomy Lagus on the throne of Egypt.